Of Wizardry in Life
by Tsukisamu Sayako
Summary: X-over with Weiss Kruez in Harry Potter Setting. Quatre Winner is an orphan living in Ventnor, England, living a life of an outcast. When a letter came, he embarks on a journey with his newly found friend to find himself and his destiny.
1. The Letter

Of Wizardry in Life

By: Tsukisamu Sayako

**Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine, Weiß Kreuz is not mine, Harry Potter is not mine… yada yada yada… standard disclaimer applies.**

**Warning: Rated PG-13 in chapter 1 for sexual implications.  Rated PG otherwise.**

**Pairings: Omi x Quatre (even when they don't know it) other pairings will be revealed in each chapter**

**Markings: "blah" ~ normal dialogue; 'blah' ~ thoughts; _blah_ ~ flashbacks**

Chapter 1 – The Letter

Quatre looked at the ground as he trudged along the sidewalk, walking towards nowhere, heading towards anywhere but the orphanage in which he lives in.  He always felt like a pariah, ostracized from the world.  He was always alone.  Nobody cared for him, not even the adults who run the orphanage.  They simply treat him as if he was a freak.  A certain malaise always gripped his being when he was around the others, even the people he knew.  He looked at the small stone on the sidewalk and started to kick it.  He was now in the town, a few miles away from the wood trodden orphanage that he calls home.

            The orphanage was located in the outskirts of the small town called Ventnor on the Isle of Wright.  The isle was merely a few miles off the main British Isle and was the least populated of all areas.  Ventnor was the largest of all settlements upon this small isle and even so, Ventnor was small, sporting a mere 9000 residents compared to the millions in London or so.

            Quatre had no memory of who he was before he came to the orphanage at the age of 4.  He was left with a letter and a trunk, loaded with things written in a different language that no one seemed to understand.  At first, Quatre was accepted by everyone, but soon, they started to distance themselves from him.  He didn't understand, but didn't care as well, since he was perfectly content to be by himself.  None of the families who came to the orphanage even bothered to look at him and he never bothered to ask to be adopted.  He never saw the couples as potential families.  To him, he only had one family, the family with his birth parents and blood siblings, if he had any.

            The day grew dark as clouds rolled into the city.

            "Damn it," Quatre cursed softly as he quickened his steps, heading now towards the way from which he came from.  It was odd, if not anomalous, that there would be rain on this hot summer day.  Usually, there wouldn't be rain in Ventnor in the summer.  Apparently, the heavens disagreed upon this day.  Omi hastened his pace back towards the place of his hatred, why he was hurrying did not ever cross his mind.  All he knew was to get under a shelter, meaning the orphanage as there were no shops or churches for him to stay on the way to the orphanage.

            "Bloody hell," he cursed once again before taking off on a sprint, knowing perfectly well that the drizzling that was misting onto the town would soon turn into a storm.  He ran into the woods, hoping that the canopy would provide him with some cover as he makes his way back to the only place that he could call home—the home that how he'd call it home, he didn't know.  He slowed down as he walked through the silent forest; the canopy above him was thick enough to provide the ground below with a moist atmosphere.  The silence that surrounded him calmed his nerves and was only broken by the "pat-pat-pat" of the raindrops upon the dark green canopy above.

            It took him about an hour to walk back to the orphanage after it had started pouring down upon Ventnor in great sheets.  He measured his distance from the edge of the woods to the house and ran for it, immediately being drenched with nature's shower the minute he stepped out from the shelter of the forest.  He hurriedly entered the orphanage and walked up towards his room in his wet clothes, leaving water trailing in his tracks as he made his way up the stairs.  No one cared if he was making a mess—he was always blamed for all the troubles.  He entered his room and locked the door, turning towards the closet in which he had the trunk full of things that reminded him of his elusive, yet comforting family.  He quickly changed into some dry clothes and sat down in front of the chest, opening it as he did so and taking out a book from within.

            The raindrops pattered upon the window in erratic rhythms, as if making a composition of contemporary music, soothing the brown-haired boy.  As he looked at one of the books within the chest, hoping somehow that he'd understand what it was saying, he felt a draft in the room.  He shivered and contorted his face as he looked around to check that he did indeed shut the door and the window: they both are.

            "Strange," Quatre muttered to himself and stood up from where he was sitting.  He walked towards the desk in his room and looked around—nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  Then he looked down upon the desktop.  Perched on top of his journal was a letter addressed to him.  He picked the letter up and noted the coarseness of the envelop.

            'Must be handmade,' he thought.  He looked at the handwriting in front.

            "To: Mr. Quatre Winner," the letter addressed.  "The room in the attic, Orphanage of the Poor, Ventnor, Ventnor."

            There was no return address, which struck Quatre as rather odd in this 21st century world.  He turned the envelope around and saw that the letter was wax sealed.

            'Must be old and important,' Quatre pondered.  He carefully tore open the letter, hoping to preserve it for future perusal if he ever wished to reminisce.  He found three pieces of paper, more like parchments rather than paper, and unfolded them carefully.  The first one was addressed to him with an unusual school coat of arms printed on top.

            "Dear Mr. Winner," it started.  "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."  With that line read, his door was suddenly thrown open.  He looked up at the intruder with surprise; usually all of the people within the orphanage would leave him be.  In the doorway stood the keeper of the orphanage, who seemed unusually angry and seemed to loathe the boy.

            "Out," she commanded him.  "Take all of your things and get out!"  Quatre looked at her with confusion but didn't say another word and packed up.  However, it was as if he was going at a really slow pace for the keeper of the grounds stormed into the room followed by all the other adults of the orphanage and they started tearing down all of his things from the walls.  He objected profusely only to get beaten.  He was then picked up by one of the male orderlies and was practically thrown out of the building through the front door.  It rained hard and Omi helped himself up, watching the orderlies throwing his stuff out at him.  Everything within the trunk that came with him was spilt out onto the cold, wet ground.  He immediately stuffed everything back into the trunk, hoping to protect his memoirs from the rain.  He glared at the keeper of the orphanage and the rest of the people.  The keeper stood out in the rain in front of him.

            "Get out of our place, freak," she spat at him.  He took in a deep breath, attempting to keep his temper in control.  When he didn't move, she kicked a puddle of rain water at him.

            'Pick up the stick in front of you,' a voice came from nowhere, cutting into his thoughts.  Quatre seemed to become not himself as he picked up the wooden stick in front of him.  Then, some words flew out of his mouth and a blinding green light flashed before him.  When the light cleared, the keeper of the building was on the floor, her mouth contorted in a silent scream. [1] Her eyes were wide with fear and Quatre's eyes revealed no remorse as he looked at the fallen corpse.  All of the adults who had witnessed the death of the keeper all ran back into the building, screaming, in fear of him.  Quatre's eyes then trained upon the building and a moment later, a lightning struck the building, starting a fire that seemed to be fueled by the rain.  Screams erupted from within and Quatre simply stood there as if relishing in this sadistic act.  Pounds upon the doors did no good as all exits from the building seemed to be blocked by some unknown forces.  The building soon was reduced into ashes and Quatre snapped out of the daze that he was in. [2] His bleeding heart leapt to his mouth as he saw the results of his work.  He gasped and dropped the wooden stick that he had been clutching merely minutes ago.

            "What have I done?" he whispered to himself.  His knees buckled below him and he fell into a kneeling position.  He remained in his position as the shock sets in and the pain in his heart continued.  He could still see the blinding flash of green light; he could still hear the screams of innocents who had done nothing but destroy his life.  Some 10 minutes left perhaps before he swallowed down his guilt and picked up the trunk.  He entered the dark forest, running away from the orphanage, into the mist of darkness that started to rise within the woods.

            The wooden stick that he left behind continued to be drowned in the rain until a black robed person picked it up.  He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and he looked towards the direction in which Quatre had run.  He smiled wickedly and an evil sparkle appeared in his malevolent eyes.  He disapparated with an evil laugh, proud of the havoc that he had introduced into the young boy's life.

            Quatre ran into the midst of the forest, uncaring of where he was going.  He ran until his legs gave up on him.  He then remained there for the night, opening the letter for the second time that day as he finish reading the letter.  He had built a small fire, making sure that none of the flames or sparks would help to start a forest fire.  He was unsure of the rain as it seemed to have fueled the flames that burnt all those people down—those who didn't care about him, but who didn't hurt him.  His eyes flew back to the letter and started reading.

            "Dear Mr. Winner," Quatre began again.

            "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

"Term begins on September 1.  We await your owl by no later than July 31.

            "Yours sincerely,

            "Professor L. Une

            "Deputy Headmistress."

            Quatre held the letter in shock and surprise.  He read it over again, making sure that he was right—he had just been accepted to a school of magic?

            "This is impossible," Quatre whispered to himself.  "There is no such thing as magic."  However, he started to doubt himself.  Why would the keeper of the orphanage call him a freak if he wasn't a wizard?  A lot of strange things have occurred around him, so why can't he believe that there is such a thing as magic.  He still has the lightning bolt scar that no one knows about and normal people don't get scars that look like that.

            Quatre looked at his watch: July 2nd.  That means he has three more weeks before he had to reply to the letter.  A hoot above him startled the young boy as he saw a bird flying in circles around him.  Quatre bit his lips.  Apparently, the bird was an owl and it was waiting for his reply.

            "Come back another day," Quatre said to the bird.  "Go to London in three weeks and you shall bring my answer back to Hogwarts."  The owl hooted in reply as if saying "fine."  Quatre smiled weakly as he watched the owl flapped its wings, leaving the boy to his thoughts.  Quatre fell into a reverie as he thought about the possibilities and running through his head how to get to London in the first place.  A few minutes later, he drew out of his thoughts and read the second piece of parchment.  On it held a list of all the supplies and items that he was to buy for the school year.  Quatre gnawed on his bottom lip, knowing perfectly well that he was unable to afford any of the stuff, much less any food that he would need to get to London as he had no money.  Tears left two trails upon his handsome face and he wiped them away.  He wished that he wasn't poor.  He then looked at the last piece of the parchment.

            "Dear Mr. Winner," the last letter started.  Apparently it was a personal letter.

            "My name is Professor Treize Khushrenada.  I am the Headmaster here at Hogwarts.  I am deeply grateful that you are still alive.  I knew your parents well and I must say that you are in grave danger the longer you stay in Ventnor.  Within your trunk are two items that will be very important in your travels to London: an invisibility cloak and a wand.  Wear the invisibility cloak whenever you are traveling on foot, though I must hope that you would travel by the Knight Bus and head straight to Diagon Alley.  I have taken the liberty to reserve a place for you on the Knight Bus such that all your expenses will be paid by me until you have reached the Leaky Cauldron.

            "When you reach your destination, you will meet with Rashid Kurama, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts.  He shall escort you to purchase your school items in Diagon Alley and more will be revealed once you meet him.  I leave you here now.  I hope you shall do what is best for you.

            "Sincerely,

            "Professor Khushrenada."

            Quatre took in a deep breath and pondered.  He wondered if he should take up that offer.  Somehow he knew that the professor was being truthful.  However, he wouldn't even know where or how to get to the Knight Bus if he knew.  He opened his trunk and rummaged around the eclectic collection of assortments and pulled out a silvery looking cloak.  Instantly, he knew that it was the invisibility cloak.  How he knew, he didn't know.  He then decided that he shall take up that offer tomorrow night when he goes into town.  He lied down upon the pine bed, using the invisibility cloak as a blanket, and laid his head upon the pine bough that he had made for himself.  Soon, he fell asleep with thoughts of curiosity running in his head.

The next day, Quatre woke to the sound of dripping water, remnants of the storm from last night, and the chirping sounds of morning birds.  Quatre blinked several times before he realized that he was sleeping in the forest.  He shivered in the cold morning air.  Apparently it was just dawn.  He immediately sat up and looked around him.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  The fire that he had set yesterday burnt out, leaving a trial of smoke upwards.  Quatre stretched, getting rid of the morning cramps and he rubbed his sleepy eyes.  He yawned and stood up.  Then he sighed and picked up the invisibility cloak.  He folded the silvery fluid cloak up and placed it back into the trunk.  As he folded the cloak back up, a wooden stick fell out of the cloak and Omi picked it up in wonder.

            The wand was rather worn and seemed utterly old.  He pocketed the wand in his pants, keeping it save from the public and he picked up the small trunk.

            Even though he was deep in the forest, he had already known his way through this sacred place for the pagans.  He knew well in his times spent here which way was which and where there are food and water.  He first headed to get some berries to eat and water to drink as well as to wash his face.  After he had washed his face, he looked into the clear stream and stared at his own childish reflection.  He was not a 10 year-old.  Children like him don't go around taking care of themselves and killing people.  He shivered when he thought about the deaths that he had committed just a day before.  He shook his head profoundly, making himself to think about something else.  The water on his face flew off in drops as he shook his head and soon he stopped.  He then went around looking for berries for his lame breakfast and took off on an hour-walk to town.

            As he walked through the forest, he let the natural sounds soothe him, calming his turbulent soul.  He listened to the chirping of birds and the running of streams, the rustling of leaves above as zephyrs pass through the forest and the crunching of the pine bough as he walked through the forest.  As a child, Quatre had often been intrigued by the mysterious airs that the forests often acquire, the unknown within the forests spurred his curiosity and even with it explored now, Quatre still find this forest on the edge of Ventnor to be an intriguing place—a place worthy of praise.

            In no time, he entered into the town of Ventnor and he cruised around randomly.  He didn't want to attract attention by asking for the Knight Bus nor did he desire any attentions.  Of course, dragging a trunk behind him wasn't exactly helping him in repelling attention; however, fortunately, all pedestrians didn't seem all that bothered with a child dragging a trunk.

            As he wandered down an empty street, he sensed calm, a feeling that never came to him when he was in Ventnor.  He then suddenly stopped and looked up.  10 feet in front of him was a 10-year-old girl with dirty clothes.  She sported shoulder-length brown hair, a torn t-shirt, and a dirty dress that came down to her knees.  She was wearing a pair of terribly worn shoes and her skin was unusually pale for a child.  She seemed to be expecting him for she signaled him to follow her.  She walked into a dark alley to the left of her and he followed, somehow believing that she was the reason that he was feeling relaxed.

            As soon as he stepped into the alley, he was pulled into the shadows.  He looked at the person who had pulled him into the shadows and found his eyes locked on a pair of sapphire blue eyes.  There was a commotion outside the alley as people rushed to tell other people about the burning down of the orphanage.  When the people cleared the street, the girl led him further down the alley.

            "Who are you?  You're just like me." Quatre asked once they stopped at the end of the alley.

            "You're just like me too," the girl said softly.

            "I'm a witch," she said.  "And you are a wizard."

            "Yes, and you are Omi Tsukiyono," Quatre said, surprised at his own response.

            "How did you know that?" Omi asked.

            "My heart told me," Quatre replied, he then held out his hand for a handshake.  "My name is Quatre Winner."  The girl smiled weakly and accepted his handshake. [3]

            "Where's your home?" Quatre asked.  Omi fell silent.

            "The forest is my home," she said softly.         "Can you take me with you?"

            "On the Knight Bus?"

            "If that's how you are going to get to London, then yes.  Professor Khushrenada told me that you would help me to get to London.  He must've forgotten to tell you about it."  She showed him the letter that Khushrenada had sent her.

            "Dear Miss Tsukiyono," it started.

            "My name is Professor Treize Khushrenada.  I am the Headmaster here at Hogwarts.  I understand your current situation and much to my chagrin, I am unable to come and pick you up in Ventnor, none of my colleagues can do so as well.  However, to get to London, you must find Mr. Quatre Winner.  I have given him instructions on how to get to London and your expenses in traveling to London will be paid by me as well.  Once in London, you and Mr. Winner are to meet with Rashid Kurama, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts.  He will recognise both you and Mr. Winner.  I hope you will make it to London safely and all of us anticipate you and Mr. Winner's return to London.

            "Sincerely,

            "Professor Khushrenada."

            Quatre folded the letter up and handed it back to the homeless girl.  She seemed unusually kind for a homeless person and seemed quick to trust someone.

            "I see," Quatre said finally.  "But the truth is: I don't really know how to summon the Knight Bus."

            "I'm sure it'll come to you when night comes.  I think the Knight Bus only operates at night.  At least that's what the name suggests, don't you think?"

            Quatre smiled at her and nodded his head in agreement.  Omi giggled.

            "Come on," she said, taking his hand into hers.  "Let's go get something to eat."  Then, he proceeded to drag him out towards the street.  Suddenly, their way was blocked by a man.

            "Found ya," he said smugly.  Omi gasped, let go of Quatre's hand and started to run back but the man reached out and grabbed her by the back of her shirt.

            "Lemme go!" she shouted.

            "You belong to me, you bitch."  The brute then slammed the child towards a wall and Omi cried out in pain.

           "Let her go!" Quatre shouted.  He had whipped out the wand but the man was busy invading the girl's privacy.  Then, a word flew into Quatre's head and he shouted.

            "_Stupefy!"  Immediately, the man was blown away and he was instantly knocked out by the force of the blow.  Omi slumped down the wall in wretched sobs. [4]_

            "Are you okay?" Quatre asked once he was by her side.  He had pocketed the wand and touched the girl tenderly.  Omi looked up at him with teary eyes and without warning, embraced him in a hug.  He was surprised but soon started to comfort the crying girl.  After 10 minutes or so, Omi finally stopped crying and she pulled away from him.

            "Who was that?" he asked softly.

            "He had killed my parents," Omi confessed in the same tone that Quatre used.  Quatre's eyes widened.  "He took me away from my family and abused me.  I escaped and ran to the police.  He was only locked up for a few months when they couldn't find enough evidence to convict him.  I had no relatives.  My parents were both the only children and my grandparents all died.  I was placed in the orphanage, but I ran away.  I didn't like the orphanage.  I had nowhere else to go, so I stayed in the forest."

            "I'm sorry."

            "No, don't be sorry.  The one who should be sorry is that bloody murderer," Omi said viciously.  Then, she helped herself up.  "Come on.  We should leave."

            "Wait," Quatre said.  He opened his trunk and pulled out the invisibility cloak.  He handed the cloak to Omi and closed the trunk.  Then, he picked up the trunk and said, "Put the cloak over us."  Omi did as she was told and wondered curiously what the cloak was going to do.

            "We're gonna look silly if we walk like this in public," she said timidly to her new friend.  Quatre smiled.

            "It's an invisibility cloak.  They're not gonna be able to see us," Quatre reassured her.

            "If you say so," she said, looking through the semi-transparent material that covered them both.  They walked out of the town slowly and it was only then that Quatre allowed Omi to pull the cloak off of them.  Omi then led him to where she always occupied and they stayed there until night.  Quatre was glad that there was someone to talk to.  It appeared that two outcasts, ostracized by society, had a lot in common.  They played in the wood and gathered up enough food to last them all day before nightfall.  Soon, night did fall and Omi made a fire in the fire pit that she had always used for the time that she had been living in the forest.  Quatre lied across from her, admiring the way the flames danced upon the woods and how the light from the flames danced upon her beautiful face.  Omi blushed when she realized that Quatre was staring at her and she coughed a bit to hide her embarrassment.  Quatre flushed much to his chagrin and laughed at his own foolishness.  They laughed and joked and confessed more about each other until it was past midnight.  Then, the two hyper children, who were both apprehensive yet enthusiastic about the trip, left the campsite, making sure that they had smoldered out the fire before heading back into town.

            They entered the town way past midnight and there was not a soul around.  They stood on the curb of the main thoroughfare and looked around to see that no one is there.

            "I still don't know how to get to the Knight Bus though," Quatre admitted once they stopped, but then suddenly, something came to his mind.

            Quatre took the wand and then stood raising the wand in her right hand.  A few seconds later, there was a deafening BANG and a bus came screeching down the thoroughfare, seemingly to have come out of nowhere.  Quatre and Omi both goggled at the bus and it came to a halt beside them.  The sliding doors opened to reveal a seemingly overzealous conductor.

            "Hello there," the conductor said cheerfully.  Quatre and Omi looked at each other then back at the conductor.  "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard.  Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go.  My name is Ahmed.  I'm your conductor for the night with Otto as your driver for the night.  Well, what are you waiting for?  Come on board!"  Quatre and Omi looked at each other and shrugged and Ahmed looked at the two with wondering eyes.

            "You did flag us down didn't you?" asked Ahmed scrutinizing the two children.

            "Well, yes, I guess," Quatre said.

            "Heh," said Ahmed.  "What's your name?"

            "I'm Quatre Winner and that's Omi Tsukiyono," introduced Quatre.

            "Ah right, Khushrenada told us about you guys.  Well, come on in and let me get that for you, Mr. Winner."

            "Please, just Quatre."

            "Right then."  He then scooted Quatre and Omi into the bus while carrying Quatre's suitcase.  Then, the door closed and with another BANG, the bus went off.

            "Right.  Here's your bed and there's yours," Ahmed said, pointing at the beds that Quatre and Omi would be using.  The Knight Bus was completely different from the buses that Muggles normally took; but then again, he never took a bus before.  "Khushrenada said that he's paid for your trip, meaning that you get a bed, a cup of hot cocoa when you get up tomorrow and a set of hygienic items."  Ahmed then went over to the bedside cabinet between Quatre and Omi's bed and pulled out two sets of robes.  "He also gave us these.  He thought that it would be better if you sleep in these and I'd suggest you take a shower tomorrow.  Speaking of which, where are you guys heading to anyways?"

            "Diagon Alley," Omi spoke up for the first time since they flagged the Knight Bus down.

           "Of course," Ahmed said, slapping his right hand on his forehead.  "How could I have forgotten that?  Anyways, change into the sleeping robes over there and we'll get there by tomorrow at noon."

            "Thank you," Quatre said.  Then, the two children went over to the bathroom and Omi went in first, changing into her sleeping robes in quite a short while. [5] Then, she stepped out just as Ahmed was helping a witch out of the bus into a village near Ventnor.  She headed towards her bed and noticed that there were no other person on the bus on their level other than the conductor and the driver.  She wondered if the people had all left before they came into the bus.

            "Mr. Ahmed, sir?" she said to the conductor as she walked up to the front.  She then noticed that the bus was practically driving itself and it was jumping all over the place with the obstacles in its ways simply jumping out of the way.

            "Yeah, miss."

            "How many people currently occupy the Knight Bus?"

            "Well, we've got quite the load tonight.  I think there's 24, 25 if you include the two of you and Mrs. Malone who just stepped off the bus.  Normally we get 10 or 11, but some nights are especially busy for us.  I think the most we've gotten was around 50 or so." [6]

            "Wow," Omi exclaimed.  Then, Quatre stepped out of the bathroom.

            "Well, you kids better go to sleep.  I'll wake you up around 10, how's that?"

            "Thanks," Quatre said.  Then, the two went to sleep on their beds—beds that weren't theirs but for the first time in a long while, both of them were able to sleep peacefully.

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Yay, Chapter 1's done.  I have Chapter 2 done too… but I don't want to post it until after I finish Chapter 3 and so on.  This fic will probably take a while to finish… Considering the fact that the first chapter's so very long… @_@;;;  So please be patient!  ^_^;;;

Sayako

P.S. I am not from England.  I'm an American, so please excuse the non-British English slang for some dialogue.  ^______^;;;

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Notes:

[1] In case you were wondering, the spell that Quatre used was one of the forbidden spells—the one with Avada Kedavra

[2] No, Quatre-kun is NOT sadistic…he was possessed by an entity during that moment…which entity, I'll let u figure it out on ur own…  hehe

[3] Yes… I made Omi a girl… (don't kill me please!!!!!!!!!) and Quatre is empathic as the TV series suggested

[4] Eh…Quatre only knows that spell cuz there's this little voice in his head that tells him about it.  More will be revealed later—hint: why does Quatre have a scar on his forehead?

[5] I dunno if the Knight Bus had bathrooms in it or not.  In this fic, the Knight Bus has bathrooms.

[6] I know that the Knight Bus probably have 24 beds or something if the bus held two floors…  I'm making it more ^^;;;; just because I like to meddle with magic.


	2. The Leaky Cauldron

Of Wizardry in Life

By: Tsukisamu Sayako

**Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine, Weiß Kreuz is not mine, Harry Potter is not mine… yada yada yada… standard disclaimer applies.**

**Warning: Rated PG-13 in chapter 1 for sexual implications.  Rated PG otherwise.**

**Pairings: Omi x Quatre (even when they don't know it) other pairings will be revealed in each chapter**

**Markings:** "blah" ~ normal dialogue; 'blah' ~ thoughts; _blah_ ~ flashbacks

Chapter 2 – The Leaky Cauldron

            Quatre opened his eyes to that morning has arrived in England.  He yawned and sits up in his bed, stretching as he did so.  On the bed next to him, the younger girl continued to sleep peacefully.  Quatre's eyes fell upon her and he smiled.  Then, as if sensing someone's eyes upon her, Omi opened her eyes and the two looked into each other.  Both of them blushed as Ahmed saw them up.

            "Ah, you're both awake.  We'll get to the Leaky Cauldron in an hour or so.  Khushrenada had specifically said that u were to be dropped off the day after you boarded.  So, you might as well go and take a shower.  I'll get a start on your hot cocoa," he said as he came up to them.

            "Thank you," Omi said to the conductor.

            "No problem," he smiled and walked up the stairs toward the second floor of the bus.  Quatre and Omi looked at him as he walked up.  Then, they turned their attention back to each other.

            "You want to take the shower first?" Quatre asked Omi.

            "Nah, it's okay.  I occupied the bathroom first last night.  You can go first."

            "Alright."  He then gathered up the set of wizarding robes that Ahmed had set up for him as well as the bag of hygienic items and went into the bathroom.

            While Quatre occupied the bathroom, Omi walked towards the front of the Knight Bus and watched as the bus continued its journey.

            "Where are we now?" she asked quietly.

            "Just on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow right now, Miss," the driver named Abdul said cheerfully.

            "Godric's Hollow?  Where is that?"

            "That's near the Muggle city of Edinburgh methinks." [1]

            "We're in Scotland?" she exclaimed incredulously.

            "The Knight Bus can travel a great distance within an hour, Miss Omi," Ahmed answered her as he made the hot cocoa.

            "How fast can it travel?"

            "About 10 miles per minute," the driver answered.  "That's 600 miles per hour," [2] he added, smiling at the young girl.

            "Wow," Omi gasped.

            Omi continued to watch the progression of the bus through various wizarding villages as Quatre took his shower.  Soon, Quatre exited the bathroom with dirty clothes in his arms.  As he did so, a pounding "BANG" erupted as the bus came to a "screeching" halt.  Quatre, who was not holding onto anything else during then, tumbled towards the front of the bus and collided with his friend, who went down with a yelp.

            Ahmed laughed as he helped the two up and helped Quatre pick up the dirty clothes.

            "Stay here, I'll be right back."  With that, he went upstairs.  After a few moments, he came back down carrying a lady's bag with the owner of the bag following him down.

            "There you go, Miss Spale," he said as he handed the bag to the passenger.  The witch named Miss Spale smiled and walked away.  Then, the bus went off again with a "BANG."  Fortunately for the two kids, they held onto handrails around the bus before the bus went off again.  Ahmed then turned towards them once again.

            "You won't need those again," he said, pointing at the rags that were Quatre's clothes.  "Khushrenada has requested that you two both get new clothes on his charge.  He said that it was the least he could do for you two.  He didn't say why though."  The last sentence answered the unasked question that both children had.

            "You can toss them there," he said, pointing at the trash bin in the far corner next to the bathroom. [3] "Omi, you had better go take your shower.  We'll serve you breakfast and a bit of lunch.  There's quite a bit of great scenery that you wouldn't want to miss.  We would be dropping you off at the Leaky Cauldron after lunch at the latest, considering the bus is still filled with people."

            Omi nodded and zoomed into the bathroom with the new robes that were on her bed.  Quatre smiled as she closed the bathroom door and moved towards the trash bin.  He checked that there were nothing left in the pockets and tore off a piece of his ragged shirt for memory purposes.  He then walked back to his bed and took one of the mugs of hot cocoa that was on the table between his and Omi's bed.  He held the mug and drank it slowly as he thought back on these last few days.

            He finally finished the mug and put it back onto the table just as Omi had finished her shower and came out of the bathroom wearing a wizarding robe, like the one that he was wearing.  She walked over to the trash bin and threw away her clothes; however, like Quatre, she kept a shred and went back into the bathroom, this time to clean the shred.

            Quatre watched the bathroom door and waited for Omi to exit.  Soon enough, she did so and walked over to her bed.  She picked up the other mug and drank slowly from it, but considerably faster than Quatre.  She soon finished and as soon as she had put the mug down, the bus came to a screeching halt with a "BANG" in what looked like to be Warwick Castle.  There, another passenger got off and the bus continued on its journey.

            Ahmed walked over to them and pulled out a tray of food from an overhead compartment.

            "Here, it's not much, but it should last for now," he said.

            "Thanks!" the two said simultaneously and ate the toast with jam.

            The day continued as such, with them stopping at various locations and returning on the journey.  Lunch came with small tuna fish sandwiches (After all, they did eat around 11 AM or so.) and after another half hour, they finally came to a screeching halt in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

            The two children looked out at the destination as Ahmed walked over to them.

            "Well, it's time for you two to get off," he said, as if he was going to miss them.  The two children turned towards him and smiled kindly.

            "Don't worry about us," Quatre said.  "We'll visit you every summer on the bus!"  He smiled cheerfully.

            "Yeah!" Omi added, "I'll bet this is how we'll get to Diagon Alley every year!"  She smiled just as cheerfully as Quatre.  Ahmed wiped away a tear and hugged the two children.

            "You two are very kind," he said, "I'm sure going to miss you."  He pulled away and led them off the bus as he carried Quatre's trunk off the bus.  He placed it on the curb and turned to the two.

            "Good luck at Hogwarts and make some mischief for me," he winked and the two children giggled.

            "I'm sure we will," Omi said.

            "I know you will.  I can see two troublemakers right in front of me."  The three laughed.

            "Oy Ahmed, we should go now!" Abdul shouted to Ahmed.

            "Alright, cool your engine.  There's no one on the bus right now!"  He then turned towards the two children.

            "Well, I guess this is 'good-bye'."

            "No, it's not good-bye.  It's just 'see you later'," Omi said, holding out her hand for a handshake.  Ahmed smiled and shook the girl's hand.

            "Right, see you later."  He then shook Quatre's hand.

            "See you next year, kids!" Abdul shouted from the bus.

            "Bye, Mr. Abdul!" Quatre shouted.  "See you later, Ahmed."

            Ahmed then boarded the bus and the bus door closed.  The two children stepped back from the curb and watched the bus depart with a "BANG" and a flash.

            The two children stood there next to the wooden trunk watching down the street as if waiting for a bus to disappear down the busy street.  They then turned around and looked at the shabby looking pub with the wooden sign: "The Leaky Cauldron."  They then looked at each other and walked into the pub, lugging Quatre's trunk behind them.

            The atmosphere within was cool and not at all frightening; there was a sense of homeliness within.  Soft chattering could be heard from all directions in the pub as the two entered.  It took a few seconds for their eyes to become adjusted to the darkness of the bar and the two children looked around with curiosity.  No one seemed to notice them yet as the two stood in front of the door leading outside.

            Then, the door behind them opened and the two jumped out of the way as a tall strong man entered the pub.  They goggled at the height of the man and he turned towards them, looking at them with a pair of kind eyes, as if he knew who they were already.

            "Ah Rashid, how's it going?" a voice came over the chattering.  The two children simultaneously turned towards the source of the voice as the tall man made his way there.

            "Nothing much, Father.  Though that's saying little, with the new school year coming up of course," the tall man said.  The two looked at them with confused faces.  After all, the man called "Rashid" just called a frailer man, despite his older years, "Father."  The tall man sported a large woolen cloak over a rather befitting Arabian outfit: a white light long sleeved shirt with a blue vest and a pair of black pants.  The two looked at each other and then at the other two again.

            "So, your usual again?"

            "Sure.  Just make it little though, I believe Khushrenada's charges have arrived."  He pointed at the two children, who grabbed each other's hands with nervousness.  The bartender smiled warmly.

            "Right then, I'll give your usual and two glasses of lemonade for those two, on the house!"  With that, he went to get the drinks.  The two children looked at the tall man, who beckoned them.

            The two walked hesitantly towards the man named "Rashid" and seemed unsure of themselves.  They could see that some people had turned their attention towards them when the name "Khushrenada" had been mentioned.

            Once they were in front of the tall man, he turned to some people sitting on the barstools.

            "Do you mind to let these two sit here?"  He said.  The chatting group turned and looked at them.  Then, as if they were special, they assented with admiration in their tone.  The two children once again were confused.

            "Come on then," the tall man said.  "Sit."  The two children followed his instructions and sat on the barstools.  They looked at the various bottles and instruments that were behind the bar.  Even though neither of them had ever been in Muggle bars, something told them that this bar was very singular and strange with its non-Muggle instruments around.

            "Here you go," the bartender said as he appeared out of nowhere in front of them with a loud crack, causing the two children to nearly fall out of their seats.  The bartender laughed as he handed them their drinks in pristine glasses.  He then handed the man named "Rashid" a large clay mug.  The two children drank from the glasses and then looked at the others, neither one of the children had the courage to speak.

            Finally, Omi decided that the silence was driving her mad (even though there were chattering everywhere else), she asked quietly, "Who are you?"

            The tall man laughed and put down his drink.  "Ah yes, I forgot my manners.  My name is Rashid Kurama, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.  Now, that might make me sound like I'm a dolt, in reality, I'm definitely not a dumb person.  I did graduate from Hogwarts after all.  Besides, I'm the Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts." [4] He smiled.  The two children smiled back as well.

            "This is Father Maxwell, owner of this pub.  He was a priest but found out about his magical roots and decided to pursue magic instead of pursuing salvation.  He's quite an oddball."

            The bartender laughed.  "Yes, I'm quite the oddball," he agreed.  "Don't let that scare you away from here though."

            Quatre and Omi both laughed.

            "Of course not.  We would definitely be counting on you to get us rooms for the next some years," Quatre said rationally.

            "Yes, for the next seven years," the Father said quietly, yet the laughter has yet to escape from his eyes.  He cleared his throat.  "Well, drink up, you two.  Then I'll get you your keys."

            "We can share a room," Omi spoke up.  "We don't mind."  There was a tinge of fear in her eyes, for what reasons, no one, but her, knew.  Father Maxwell, seeing the fear in her eyes, smiled kindly and replied.

            "Yes, of course dear."  He then went and got a set of two keys for the same room.

Quatre entered the quarter with curiosity.  He had never been in an inn before.  The quarter was roomy and the walls were bare.  There were two beds with wooden frames in front of him, under the window at the far end of the room that overlooked into Diagon Alley.  To his left, there was a wooden desk with a wooden chair and to his right, a doorway leading into the bathroom.  The boy walked over to the window and looked down upon the bustling alley with interest.

            "Ah yes, Diagon Alley," a voice came from behind him.  Quatre turned to see that Father Maxwell and Omi had joined him at the window.  Quatre could see that the Father had just put down his trunk at the foot of one of the beds.

            "Is this the place that we are to do our shopping for school?" Omi asked.

            "Yes.  This is the place that most students going to Hogwarts go to do their shopping.  In some special cases, they can go to Hogsmeade to get their supplies if they live in Scotland or Phoenix Park if they live in Ireland.

            "There's Ollivander's," the Father pointed at a shop nearby with a wooden sign of a wand with the shop's name – Ollivander's – on it, "that's where you get your wands; then there's Madam Malkin's, where you get your robes; there's the apothecary, a rather nasty place if you ask me, with all those disgusting potion ingredients.  There's the Cauldron Shop, and there's Flourish and Blotts, the perfect place to get your parchments, quills, ink bottles, and books of course.  Then there's Eeylop's Owl Emporium – you can't go to school without an owl.  That's Quality Quidditch Supplies over there – you can get your brooms there.  But since you two are too young, you can't play Quidditch yet.  And finally, there's Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor – the perfect place to get Ice Cream and sweets.  You two should definitely go there tomorrow for lunch.  Of course, Father Maxwell wouldn't mind if you two come back here for lunch."  With that, the three of them laughed.

            After a while, the laughter subsided.

            "So, any questions?" Father asked.

            "Yes," Quatre said, "what is Quidditch?"

            "It's a brilliant game.  Rashid will explain it better than I will since he has watched quite a few games.  Speaking of Rashid, he won't come until tomorrow.  He had to do some shopping for Hogwarts down at Knockturn Alley, I'd probably say that it's something for the Grounds."

            "Knockturn Alley?  Where's that?" Omi asked.  Father Maxwell beckoned them and pointed down the alley.

            "You see that white building with the crooked columns?" he asked and the two children nodded.  "Well, if you turn left, you would enter the shopping center of the Dark Arts.  I better not see you two sneaking down there; it's practically the only place where the Dark Arts still permeate freely in the Magical realm – that and Azkaban of course."

            "Azkaban?"

            "The Wizarding Prison.  Any infamous wizards or witches are kept there.  It's a nasty place.  I've been there once or twice myself on preaching duties, since there are some wizards and witches who also believe in Christianity."  He paused and turned to the children.  "I trust that you _do know 'what is Christianity', of course?"_

            "Oh yes," answered Quatre.  "I remembered that we always had to say Grace before a meal and that I always had to go to Church in our small town.  I hated that."

            Father laughed.  "Well now, that's a true wizard there.  In any case, come down for supper any time.  I'll make sure that you two get something to eat before I get the chef to take you down to the Ice Cream Parlor for a bit of a treat.  It's on me."

            Omi and Quatre looked like they were in heaven.  "Oh wow.  Thank you so much!" Omi said happily.

            "You're welcome.  I'll see you both in a bit then.  Here are your keys – now, don't lose them!"  Father Maxwell then left the room and Quatre went over and closed the door.

            "So, what do you want to do now?" Omi asked.

            "Well, there's nothing much to do.  Should we write our replies to Professor… um-"

            "Professor Une." [5]

            "Yes, Professor Une."

            "I suppose…" Omi trailed off.  "But how are we supposed to send it to her?"

            Quatre pointed out the window down Diagon Alley.

            "I think I saw a place called the 'Owl Post' down there.  Maybe it's where we send out our owls."

            "I guess.  But how are we supposed to write the reply?  We have no paper or pen."

            As if answering her question, two bottles of ink, two feather quills, and a stack of parchment appeared on the desk.

           "That would work," Omi said.  With that, the two walked over to the table and sat down on the wooden chairs.  Then, they dipped the quills into the bottles and wrote a reply.  When they were done, they were both unsatisfied by the appearance of the reply with all their smears and blots from excess ink.  So then, they re-dipped their quills and withdrew excess ink from them.  They wrote a second draft and were finally satisfied.  They then folded the parchments up and put them into the pockets of their new wizarding robes.  They looked back at the table and it was cleared of all writing instruments.  The two looked at each other and laughed.

            "Well, I guess it's time to go down and get our supper," Quatre said, looking up at the strange hourglass that showed the time with the sand in the lower chamber of the hourglass.  The time was 6:30 PM, but daylight has yet to dim – all due to the northern location of London in the world.

            The pair exited the room, locked it behind them, and walked down the stairs towards the pub area of the inn.  When they entered, the room was considerably more crowded than when they first came in with wizards and witches, exhausted from the day's shopping in Diagon Alley, came in to have their supper.

            The two children looked around with curiosity at the strangely clothed adults.  One wizard wore a purple top hat with green robes; another wore a pink beret with black robes.  One witch wore a blue wizarding hat and yellow robes while another wore a pair of polka dot night gowns.  The two children, having now the habit of looking at each other whenever they see something strange, looked at each other and hoped that they wouldn't go out into the Muggle world looking like that.

            "Quatre, Omi!" a voice reached their ears.  The two 11-year-olds looked around and saw Father Maxwell waving at them from behind the counter.  He beckoned them and they walked towards him, looking at what the adults were eating at the same time – savory beef roast, refreshing salads, and more.

            "Well now," the Father said once they were in earshot, "There's a booth right over there."  He pointed towards the empty booth towards his right.  "It's reserved for you two.  The menu's already on the table.  Just say whatever you want and the food will appear in front of you.  Remember to save room for dessert!"  He winked and the two children giggled.  They then walked over to the booth and sat down in the benches facing each other.

            They looked at the menu and wondered how big some of these portions were.  They looked out of their booths and judging from the dishes that the adults were eating, they were too large for the two to order two full dishes.  They flipped to the back and saw kid's meal.  But the food on the kid's meal simply didn't appeal to them.

            "Do you want to get just one adult meal and share it?" Omi asked, laying down the menu on the table top.

            "That's what I was thinking to.  The kid's meals don't sound very yummy," [6] Quatre replied.  "Any idea of what we should order?"

            "Um, how about this: 'Braised Rack of Lamb with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables'?"

            "Lamb?  Hmm.  I've never tried lamb before."

            "I haven't either, but I think it'll be okay.  Besides, its cost isn't that much.  3 Galleons, 8 Sickles, and 18 Knuts.  I think that would be good."

            "Yeah, and we can order another side dish while we're at it," Quatre said eagerly.  "I want to eat Yorkshire pudding.  I haven't had that in the longest time!"  Omi giggled.

            "Alright then," Omi said, putting the menu off to one side.  "I'd like to have one order of braised rack of lamb."  Instantly, a plate of food appeared in front of her.

            "One small order of Yorkshire pudding please."  Like the lamb, a bowl of Yorkshire pudding appeared. [7]

            "Two plates please," Omi said as she giggled.  Immediately, two empty plates along with two cloth napkins wrapped around eating utensils appeared on the table.  Along with the instruments, a larger spoon and another set of knife and fork appeared, most likely for the distribution of the food between the two children.

            "Dig in!" Quatre said as they tucked the cloth napkins into their robes.  Omi went to work on the rack of lamb as Quatre distributed the Yorkshire pudding.  Once the rack was cut into 6 pieces, with 3 pieces per person, Omi placed the pieces on their plates, distributed the mashed potatoes and the vegetables, and placed the small saucer of sauce (Redundant, I know.) in the middle of the table.

            Once the food was distributed, they started eating ravenously.  After all, they really didn't have any food this entire day, despite the sandwiches here and there in the morning.

            Soon, the food was finished and the plates disappeared just as they had appeared.  The two were relatively full but still had enough room for dessert.  They rested for a bit and chatted about the upcoming year at Hogwarts, both wondering what it was going to be like at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Once their conversation was done, a loud crack could be heard and the two watched as a woman appeared out of nowhere about 5 feet from where they sit, dressed in clean clothes.  They could see that she was a chef, who perhaps cooked up the fanciest dishes for those who have the money to afford specialties.  She walked over to them with a smile and a pair of glasses on her face.  She wore a pair of earrings with images of food on them.  The two children smiled back at her.

            "So, ready for ice cream and your first trip into Diagon Alley?" she asked cheerfully.  The two children both nodded.  "Follow me, then!"

            Quatre and Omi then both got off the benches and followed the woman towards the backroom.  There, she took out her wand.

            "Now look closely, I won't be here all the time to take you to Diagon Alley."  She then tapped a brick 3 times with her wand.  Instantly, the bricks rearranged themselves to reveal a doorway into the dusk-lit alley.  The trio then crossed the opening into the alley and walked towards the Ice Cream Parlor.  Stores selling all different kinds of items were slowly closing and the two children looked here and there at the wondrous items that were completely out of their lives before now.

            The trio followed the stone path of the alley to the left and stopped at a store on their left: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.  The three entered the store and the old man behind the Ice Cream counter greeted them.

            "Welcome to the Ice Cream Parlor.  Name a flavor, we'll have it!"  He smiled.

            The two children looked around at the tens of different flavors and wondered which ones they would pick.

            "We'll have three double scoop cones," the chef said.

            "Alright, what will you have?"

            "You guys don't mind going after me, do you?" she asked the two children running around, looking at the different flavors.  The two both shook their heads.  She then turned towards Florean.  "Well, I'll have cotton candy and toffee."

            Florean smiled.  "Ah, I see we have a sweet tooth here."  He laughed softly.  "Coming right up!"  Then, with skilled hands and an ice cream in his hand, he scooped up two scoops of ice cream: one cotton candy flavored, the other toffee flavored."  He then handed the ice cream cone to the chef.

            "How about you?" he asked Omi.  She thought for a while.

            "I'll have, um, Chocolate Strawberry and Blueberry," she replied.

            "Interesting choice.  No one's made a combo like that before," [8] he said as he scooped up the ice cream.  "I'm sure it will taste great."  He handed her the cone of ice cream.

            "And what about you, young man?"

            "I'll have Chocolate mint and Cookies 'n' Cream," Quatre decided at last.

            "Sticking with the traditional, eh?  No matter, those two are some of our best flavors!"  The ice cream man scooped up two scoops with efficiency and handed the cone to the young child, who started to enjoy the treat.

            "So, how much will that be?" the chef asked.

            "That'll be 1 Galleon, 11 Sickles, and 8 Knuts."

            "Alright," the chef replied as she took out enough coins.  "Here."  Then, they left the building.

            "Come back soon!"

           The trio then started walking back towards the Leaky Cauldron.  As they ate, Omi noticed a sign: the Owl Post.  She stopped.

            "Um, Miss?" she asked the chef.  The chef stopped and looked back at the girl.

            "Yes, dear?"

            "Can me and Quatre send our letters to Hogwarts?"

            "You can do it tomorrow with Rashid if you want.  He has your money after all," she said benignly.  "Besides, the Owl Post's closed for now.  You are only allowed to send your letters now if you have an owl that the Owl Post employs."

            "I see," Omi then walked alongside Quatre back to the Leaky Cauldron to finish their dessert and to take a shower and go to sleep for the next day's shopping.

The next morning, Omi woke to the sound of a bustling market place.  She opened her eyes and yawned as she stretched out her arms.  She rubbed her eyes and turned to see Quatre still sleeping.  She then got off from the bed and walked over to the window.  She looked down to see that Diagon Alley was already bustling with life with shoppers, street venders, and employees on break or advertising for their respective shops.  She then turned towards the hourglass in the room and noted that it was 9:13 AM.

            'Hmm, must be because of the upcoming school year that's causing all these daily bustling down at Diagon Alley,' she thought.  'I wonder what happens here when school starts.'  Before she thought up of a rhetorical answer for herself, a paper plane flew into the room from outside of the window.  It landed right on the desktop and she walked over to look at it. [9]

            She unfolded the paper airplane and read silently:

            "Hey Omi and Quatre,

            "It's Rashid.  I'm down in Diagon Alley right now.  We'll get to the shopping this afternoon, but I've got some stuff that Professor Khushrenada wants you to know.  So if you can come down around 10:30; that would be great.  I'll see you then!

            "Rashid."

            Omi looked up at the hourglass and noted that it was around 9:20.  She looked over to Quatre on his bed and giggled at the mess he made on the bed.

            She walked over to his bed and pondered how she should wake him up.  First, she poked him, only to get a swatting hand at her finger.  She giggled as he did so vainly and took a pillow from her bed.  Then, she whacked him on his face with the soft fluffy pillow.

            "Wah!?" Quatre woke with a start.  Omi laughed loudly and tried to hide the pillow in vain.  Quatre looked at her with disbelief.  Despite just getting out of bed, he took one of the pillows from his bed and the two started to have a pillow fight.

            Finally, after 20 minutes of laughing and fighting with feathers all around them, they stopped fighting and sat down on their respective beds, facing each other.

            "Phew, that was fun," Quatre grinned.

            "That was very interesting," Omi commented, "I've always wanted feathers to come out when I pillow fight.  This was the first time it's ever happened."  The two both laughed.

            "So, what are we going to do today?"

            "Well, I supposed we should get changed, we've got feathers all on our clothes!"

            "So we do," the boy laughed.  With that, the two went over to the closet and both took out their respective wizarding robes.  Then, they changed their attires and looked over at the clock: 10 AM.

            "We should go downstairs and get some breakfast before Rashid comes," Omi said.

            "When's Rashid coming?" Quatre asked.

            "10:30."

            "What?  And you never told me?"

            "Well, you never asked!"  She said, sticking out her tongue in a childish manner.  Quatre looked at her with false anger.

            "Well," he stuck out his tongue, "to you too!"  The two then left the room laughing at their foolish antics. [10] They walked down the stairs and noted the considerable quietness that permeated the pub, unlike the bustling mood of last night.  There were only a few customers here and there and the two children could see that Father Maxwell was doing nothing.  They then walked over to the bar and sat down.

            "Hey, Father Maxwell," greeted Omi.  The Father put away what he was doing and looked up at the two.

            "Ah, good morning.  How did you sleep?" he asked as he pulled out two glasses for orange juice.

            "It was very nice and comfy in the room.  The weather was perfect for sleeping," Quatre commented.

            "I'm glad.  Here, have a drink.  I'll get Miss chef back there to whip up something special for you."  He handed them the glasses of juice and disapparated with a loud crack.  The two children jumped a bit, unfamiliar with the event of apparating and disapparating on will.  They drank from their glasses; and with another loud crack, the Father appeared in front of them with two medium plates of food.

            "I hope this isn't too much," he said as he placed the plates down before them.  The two looked at the plates of scrambled eggs, sausage links, a biscuit with gravy, and two pancakes topped with maple syrup.

            "It's perfect," Quatre said, smiling.  Omi nodded in agreement.  The Father laughed and handed them both forks, knives, and cloth napkins.

            "Eat up then, Rashid'll be here a bit later.  He's on the Knight Bus with another Professor from Hogwarts.  Methinks that they'll do some explaining to you two."  He then walked away, leaving the two to their breakfast.

            Quatre and Omi ate their breakfast happily but silently.  The only sounds heard in the pub were soft murmurs of chattering, metal clanging against clay, and the scraping of chairs against the floor.  The door neither creaked nor opened throughout their breakfast.

            Soon, the two were finished with their breakfast and for the first time since they were downstairs, the door leading out to the portal into Diagon Alley opened and two figures stepped into the room.  The first figure was Rashid with his tall stature and stern yet kind look about him; the second was a much slighter man wearing a top hat and a black robe with an emblem signifying his occupation at Hogwarts.  Despite him being shorter, the younger man was slim and still rather lanky with a healthy complexion.  From his actions and appearance, the two children can see that he is a rather superb athlete.  The two chatted congenially as they made their way towards the children.  They finished their conversation and sat on the stools next to the children.  Father Maxwell approached them cheerfully.

            "Hey Rashid, your usual?"

            "No thanks, two mugs of butterbeer for me and Professor Kudou here," he replied, gesturing towards the younger man, who took off his top hat to reveal his rather long messy blond hair.  Father Maxwell looked over to the man and smiled.

            "Ah yes, it's nice to meet you, Professor."

            "Call me Youji," he smiled as she pulled out a stick of cigarette from his robe.  "Don't try this at home, kids," he said pointing at the cigarette.  Then, he set it in between his lips and instantly, the cigarette was lit.  The Father frowned.

            "Hey hey hey, no smoking allowed in here.  Not in front of these kids."

            The professor pulled the cigarette out and laughed wholeheartedly.

            "It's not a real cigarette, Father."  He handed the stick to him and pointed at an inscription on the cigarette: "Autolit Breath Freshener Cigarette – Courtesy of Weasley Wheezes Co." [11]

            The Father laughed and handed the burning stick back to the professor.  "I see.  You an investor in that company as well huh?"

            "Of course.  It will remain the best of the joke industry."

            "Right, I'll go get you your butterbeers."  He then walked away, laughing.  Professor Kudou replaced the cigarette back to its former place between his lips and waited as Rashid conversed with the kids.

            "Quatre, Omi, I would like for you to meet Youji Kudou.  He will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this next year."

            "Hello," Quatre said to the man, who smiled.

            "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Kudou," Omi said politely.

            "It's nice to meet you two, too," he replied.

            At that moment, the Father appeared behind the bar in front of them and served up the butterbeers.

            "There you go," he said.  "Anything else?"

            "That's it for now.  We'll return for lunch later," Rashid said, taking his mug of butterbeer.

            "Cheers," said Professor Kudou, raising his mug.  Rashid raised his mug in acknowledgement and the two drank from their mugs.

            "Finish up your breakfasts now, you two," the professor said.  "We're going shopping as soon as we're ready."

            Omi and Quatre nodded before returning to their plates of food.  They ate with fervor and soon finished, just as the two adults finished their mugs of butterbeer.

            "All done!" Omi announced cheerfully, pushing her plate away.  Quatre soon finished and pushed his own plate away as well.  Rashid reached over the counter and placed his and both plates down so that they won't break in some accident and Youji did so with his mug of butterbeer accordingly.

            "So, where to first?" Quatre asked excitedly.

            "I've got some things to tell you about Quatre," Rashid said.  "Why don't we let Youji take Miss Omi to Diagon Alley first?  We'll meet up with each other at Ollivander's."  Youji nodded.  Omi seemed reluctant to go but didn't want to intrude on Quatre's private life, so she agreed.

            "So we'll see you both later.  Omi and I will go post those responses of yours to Hogwarts and maybe do a bit of shopping before you guys!" Youji said, winking.  Omi giggled and Quatre smiled.  "Come on, Omi.  Let's leave them to their manly talk."  The two then got off their respective stools. [12]

            "Oh hey, Youji," said Rashid, now searching his own pockets for something.  He soon found it and pulled it out of his left pant pocket.  "Don't forget this," he said, handing a small golden key to Youji.  "Ask for Glenfork.  He should know the number of her vault."  Youji nodded in understanding and pocketed the golden key.  He then steered Omi towards the backroom of the pub that the chef had previously taken them to get to Diagon Alley.

            After the two were gone from the room, Quatre turned back to Rashid.

            "What was that?" he asked.

            "Hmm?" Rashid asked.  "You mean the key?"

            Quatre nodded.

            "It's Omi's key into her bank vault at Gringotts."

            "Do I have a key like that too?"  Rashid nodded and pulled out another key, similar to the first one that he saw, but quite different when he looked at it closer.  Rashid then re-pocketed the key.

            "Better to keep it safe for now.  I'll give it to you after we get some money out of your vault."

            "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

            "Professor Khushrenada has permitted me to explain a bit about your past."  Quatre looked at him confused.

            "My past?  My parents are both dead," he replied simply.

            "Yes, it's true that they are dead.  Nevertheless, you have to know why they are dead."

            Quatre looked at him attentively.

            "Now, I'm sure you already know about the history behind Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter."  Quatre shook his head.  Rashid was first confused then looked as if he was going to kick himself and laughed.

            "Of course not.  I forgot that you were away from the wizarding world for all these past years.  Pardon my mistake," he apologized.

            "No problem.  Who's Harry Potter?" Quatre asked.

            "Harry Potter was a wizard in history that was the one who successfully eradicated the world of Lord Voldemort.  Like you, he attended Hogwarts at this age.  But what singled him out from all the other great Hogwarts student was his lightning bolt scar, the one that he got when Lord Voldemort came to kill him when he was young."

            "Why did he want to kill Harry Potter?  He was just a baby."

            "It's because of the prophecy that Sibyll Trelawney made.  The prophecy went like this: 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches....  Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives....  The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies....'."

            "As the seventh month dies...that's July 31st," Quatre said simply.

            "That's correct.  Harry Potter was born on July 31st."

            "That's one month after I was born, and yet, I have the scar," Quatre muttered to himself.  Rashid smiled.

            "Yes, we know you have it, more reason for us to take you out of Ventnor when we could."  Quatre looked up at Rashid with confused eyes.

            "What do you mean?"

            "Can't you feel it, Quatre?  He's coming after you."

            "He?  I know he's coming, but who is he?"

            "He is the descendant of the Dark Lord aforementioned.  He is the one who has been wreaking havoc in the world these past few decades.  Practically all of the major disasters occurring in the London metropolitan area have been caused by him."

            "You mean to tell me that one person can cause all that?"

            "Oh no.  Not really just one person.  Rather, it was he and his group of followers who have been doing so.  Like I said, he is the descendant of the Dark Lord; he would follow what his ancestors have done, and that is to have a group of followers doing his every bidding against the Muggle realm and all those who oppose him in the Magic realm."

            "How do I fit into this picture?"

            "Your parents, Quatre, were two of the wizards and witches that He killed."  Quatre blanched.

            "My mum and dad died because of him?"  Rashid nodded gravely.

            "Yes, they did.  You survived the attack simply because the Order had arrived soon after he had killed your mum.  The deed was done, however, and the prophecy has been set in motion.  You have been given the scar as a symbol of the new power that came with you as a descendant of Harry Potter."

            "But I'm not _really_ related to him am I," Quatre stated forlornly.

            "No, you aren't.  At least not in blood, but in spirit, you are."

            "How does that work?"

            "Magic is a complicated art.  Nothing turns out the way you think it will.  In this world, some people might pride on their blood heritage, but even so, that does not make them great.  For example, there are wizards and witches who are Muggle-born.  How they came to have the power to become a wizard or a witch is an unsolved mystery in itself.  All we know is that people who are Muggle-born are just as capable of working with magic as all other pure bloods – the name for those who are of Wizard descents – maybe even better at times.  So even if you think you aren't _truly_ related to Harry Potter, you are, in some ways.  You have the green eyes, a trademark for all Harry Potter descendants, and the lightning bolt scar, more proof that you are him in spirit.  Understand?" [13]

            "Yeah, I guess so."  Quatre paused a bit.  "Will I go through what he went through at Hogwarts?"

            "Yes and no.  Your adventures might not be the same as his at school, but academics-wise, yes you will learn the same materials as he did; perhaps you might learn something different since there have been changes to the magical arts from his life." [14]

            Quatre nodded in comprehension.

"Well then, we better go and meet up with Youji and Omi.  They should have done some shopping by now."  Rashid grinned and Quatre smiled.  The two then left their seats to go to Diagon Alley.

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Whoo… finally got chapter 2 posted.  Sorry it took such a long time for me to post this, but being a Senior in high school who has senioritis takes up lots of time… both in the recuperation and the symptoms… pah… I do have chapter 3 done… so I might take a week or so before I post that too.  J  Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as you had with the last chapter!

Sayako

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Notes:

[1] So I don't really know where Godric's Hollow is… I just think that it's near Edinburgh :-P  And as for why I specifically picked Godric's Hollow rather than Ottery St. Catchpole (aka where the Burrow is), no reason actually.  But we'll see Ottery St. Catchpole more often in the future though.

[2] I don't exactly know how fast the Knight Bus is supposed to go… so I just made that up. ^_^;;;

[3] Yes, the trash bin is magically stuck to the floor of the bus.

[4] Ok, so I was on crack when I wrote that line.  At least it's an allusion to Hagrid; not to say that he's dumb or anything… he's just a bit slow on the uptake there, but he's greatly lovable J

[5] Professor Um… hmm sounds like Professor Une!  As for why there's a note for that… it just shows my insanity =P

[6] So they're kids with sophisticated tastes!  I know I didn't like the kids' meal stuff at restaurants when I was little… unless it's spaghetti or hamburgers, lol

[7] Hey, they're in London, of course they've got to eat British food!

[8] I'm sure with that many different flavors at Fortescue's, there's gonna be lots of combinations that no one has tried.  Lol

[9] It made no sense to have Rashid send out an owl when he's so close to the Leaky Cauldron.  So he sent a paper airplane.

[10] Children are children. lolz 

[11] So I didn't quite get rid of Youji's smoking habits.  But at least now he has an excuse to smoke. ;-)

[12] Youji acts… like a girl. @_@;;; Um… didn't mean for that to come out. =P

[13] My own theory!

[14] Rashid's not a Seer… not like Brad anyways… who will show up soon enough. =P  Which means he'll show up in this first book.


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